The book, the Web Host Manager Administration Guide, is a great reference book for any dedicated server admin to keep handy at all times. 

WebHost Manager is a package used by web hosts to manage their servers and the individual user accounts they hold. It is part of the same package as cPanel, so the host uses WebHost Manager while the client uses cPanel. WebHost Manager is at the core of many web hosts’ business. Using web host manager, you can keep track of the accounts on your server, monitor their bandwidth and disk space usage, and much more.

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In dedicated web hosting circles, you might hear the name “Plesk” tossed around.  What is a Plesk, how do you use a Plesk, and why do you need a Plesk?!  The Parallels Plesk Panel is a software package used by commercial web hosting companies to help you control your hosting account, VPS account or dedicated server.

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Dedicated hosting is a tricky beast. 

Knowing everything a dedicated hosting server should provide is enough to make your head spin too.  So with that in mind, and to help you start the new year off right – I thought I would share with you some of the more important features to look for.

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In the beginning, UNIX had only one editor, the line editor "ed." UNIX still has ed, but few people use it. Line-by-line editors really are adequate only for making short, quick corrections to files or programs. A medieval version of UNIX contained a new program called "ex." The most notable new feature of ex was a display editing facility which allowed a user to work with a full screen of text by giving the command vi . The new display editor proved so popular that AT&T UNIX System V included "vi" as a separate program. Vi is included in most operating systems.

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Lunarpages is stepping up in performance and power with two new hosting plans I am sure you will get a kick out of.  Not only are they giving people more CPU, RAM and other server resources – they are doing it at half the price of the competitors out there.  Here is a little more information about both their new Xen VPS hosting packages and the new Dedicated Intel Core i7 servers.

Xen VPS Hosting

Here is a little more information from the article:

What makes Xen VPS hosting so great? Xen-powered VPS are completely independent from the hardware node, and each other. This means that you are able to run updates independently of the hardware node. This also means that one customer can’t crash a service or the server. If one front end server ceases to work, the VPS’ that were running on that server can be restarted on other Xen servers, almost instantly.

Read More About: Xen Power Added to Lunarpages VPS Hosting

Dedicated i7 Hosting

Here is a little more from the article:

Not only does it come with the unparalleled security, control, and management options all our dedicated servers come with.  It also comes packed with the best processor in the world of dedicated hosting.

What is so great about Intel? CoreT i7 processors? – Lunarpages’ Dedicated i7 Hosting Plan takes advantage of Intel’s Core i7 processors, the most recent technology from Intel. This provides a faster, more intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it’s needed most.

Read More About the Intel Core i7 Dedicated Servers at Lunarpages!

When it comes to dedicated hosting, you want performance over anything else.  With these two new hosting offerings, Lunarpages is able to deliver in performance, speed and reliability. 

Lunarpages has a new dedicated hosting plan that will not disappoint. The new Dedicated i7 plan will leave you in awe of it’s power, speed and reliability.

What do you get? – The Dedicated i7 comes loaded with a Intel? CoreT i7 2.66ghz CPU, 3GB of DDR3 RAM, 250 GB of storage, with add-ons and upgrades to customize your hosting experience even more.   The Intel? CoreT i7 2.66ghz CPU is the most recent technology from Intel? providing faster, intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it’s needed most.

This is by far the greatest Linux-powered dedicated hosting server out there today.  At only $245 per month, it is practically a steal.  Like the other dedicated hosting plans they give, the new Dedicate i7 plan gives you unparalleled security, control and management options.

Find more dedicated hosting solutions at lpdedicated.com.

When it comes to dedicated hosting, and getting your first dedicated web hosting server, you have to watch out for a lot of various things.  Here is our list of the top ten important dedicated hosting features to look for.

1. Free Setup – Setup costs can sometimes be a hidden catch, check to see if you can get the setup to be done for free.
2. Managed Hosting Options – If you need help, be sure to check and see if it can be provided.
3. Processing Power – Ask to see if the processor on the server can be upgraded down the road if more power is needed.
4. RAM Usage – Be sure you know how much RAM usage is acceptable, and what will happen if you run short.
5. Enough Disk Space and Bandwidth – Absolutely check to see what your limitations are in disk space and bandwidth and what they can be upgraded to if needed.

Know of any more?  Feel free to share them in the comments.  Dedicated web hosting can often be a confusing mess, so it is always best to come to the situation fully prepared and know what you should be looking for as far as features go.

What is the benefit of paying more for dedicated web hosting?  Well, for one – you get bang for your buck.  These days, dedicated hosting solutions are becoming more and more upgradable, so it might be time to start looking at what services you can add to get better performance from your dedicated hosting server. 

Now, what is there to upgrade?  I thought you might ask that.  First things first, you have to look at giving yourself:

• More RAM
• Better CPU

Many dedicated hosts offer tiered systems too, to help match you up with a bigger better plan, rather than adding thing one by one.  This might be more expensive up front, and less in the long term picture of things.  Why?  The reason is, is because you get more performance, which is well worth spending the money – if you can bring more people on to the dedicated hosting account.

So when push comes to shove, looking at extra features or paid for upgrades is never a bad thing.

RAM in the dedicated web hosting world, is the amount of Random-access memory a server has.  Not to get too geeky on you, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order. 

RAM is really needed for your computer whenever you decide to perform an operation. Let’s say that you want to do some word processing on your computer. All the letters that you type are going into a temporary file that is stored in the RAM. If your computer shut down in the middle of your document creation and you powered it back up, most likely your information would be lost. Why? Because it was stored in RAM.

The same thing could be said for your dedicated server.  The more RAM it has, the more processes it can take care of at the same time.  Much of the web hosting lingo out there makes more sense if you think of it in relation to your personal computer.  The two things are much more similar than they are different, that is for sure.

Why is dedicated hosting so important to business?

Well, for the most part it all comes down to reliability.  You don’t want your important business web site hosted on the same sever space a Pokemon fan page is on, that might get hacked – and bring your web site down along with it. 

Power is also something that many businesses are looking for, and you can’t get more CPU or Bandwidth on any other web hosting plan.  Dedicated hosting makes it possible to get your web site going and keep it running, by having more server resources to work with. 

So there you have two reasons why businesses turn towards dedicated hosting.  Know of anymore reasons?  Feel free to leave them in the comments!